Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Mike Jackson since 2022 [3] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 54 councillors [4] |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
Plurality-at-large | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
Meeting place | |
York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1 3AA | |
Website | |
www |
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council, also known as Richmond upon Thames Council, LBRUT or Richmond Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018. Although the borough is named after Richmond, the council meets at York House in Twickenham, and has its main offices in the adjoining Civic Centre.
The council's full legal name is the "Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames". [5]
From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Richmond upon Thames) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Richmond upon Thames has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. [6]
Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. [7]
Since 2016 the council has shared a chief executive and other staff with neighbouring Wandsworth Council. [3]
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. [8] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. [9]
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018.
The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: [10]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1965–1982 | |
No overall control | 1982–1983 | |
Alliance | 1983–1988 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1988–2002 | |
Conservative | 2002–2006 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2006–2010 | |
Conservative | 2010–2018 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2018–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Richmond. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been: [11] [12]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Harry Hall | Conservative | 1965 | 1978 | |
John Barker | Conservative | 1978 | 1980 | |
Keith Morell | Conservative | 1980 | 1983 | |
David Williams | Liberal | 1983 | 3 Mar 1988 | |
Liberal Democrats | 3 Mar 1988 | 22 May 2001 | ||
Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2001 | 13 May 2002 | |
Tony Arbour | Conservative | 13 May 2002 | 16 May 2006 | |
Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 2006 | 9 May 2010 | |
Nicholas True | Conservative | 25 May 2010 | 4 Jul 2017 | |
Paul Hodgins | Conservative | 4 Jul 2017 | 22 May 2018 | |
Gareth Roberts | Liberal Democrats | align=right|22 May 2018 |
Following the 2022 election and by-elections in January 2024, the composition of the council was: [13] [14]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 49 | |
Green | 5 | |
Total | 54 |
The next election is due in May 2026.
The council meets at York House, a large 17th century house in the centre of Twickenham. [15] The house had been bought in 1923 by the old Twickenham Urban District Council (predecessor of Twickenham Borough Council) and converted to become its headquarters. [16] In 1990 the council moved its main offices to a new purpose-built Civic Centre at 44 York Street, immediately west of York House. [17] The Civic Centre was partly built behind the retained Victorian façade of a parade of shops at the corner of York Street and Church Street. [18]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [19]
The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden, Surbiton and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in England. The others are Windsor and Maidenhead, the site of Windsor Castle, and the London boroughs of Greenwich, and Kensington and Chelsea. The local authority is Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames 9.9 miles (15.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borough council's administrative headquarters are located in the area.
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council and is divided into nineteen wards. The population is 198,019 and the major settlements are Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton.
Anthony Francis Arbour JP, commonly known as Tony Arbour, is a British Conservative Party politician. From 2000 until his retirement in 2021, he was a member of the London Assembly representing South West London and is a former Richmond councillor.
Elizabeth Deirdre Doocey, Baroness Doocey, is a British Liberal Democrat politician and businesswoman. A former chair of the London Assembly, she was created a life peer in 2010 and is now the inaugural chair of the House of Lords Finance Committee.
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings are generally held at Westminster Council House, also known as Marylebone Town Hall, and the council has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street.
Kingston and Surbiton is a constituency in Greater London created in 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Davey previously held the seat from 1997 until losing reelection in 2015 to Conservative James Berry.
Twickenham is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Munira Wilson of the Liberal Democrats.
Local government elections took place in London, and some other parts of the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm.
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council elections are held every four years for all 54 councillor seats in the 18 wards that make up the Borough Council. By-elections are held in individual wards when vacancies arise outside the four-year cycle.
Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2006. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton and has its main offices at the nearby Civic Centre.
Local government elections took place in London, and some other parts of the United Kingdom on Thursday 6 May 2010. Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm.
Wandsworth London Borough Council, also known as Wandsworth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. It is based at Wandsworth Town Hall in the centre of Wandsworth.
Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London.
There were local government elections in London on Thursday 22 May 2014. All councillor seats on the 32 London borough councils were up for election. The electorates of Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets also elected their executive mayors, who operate in place of council leaders in those boroughs. Ward changes took place in Hackney, Kensington and Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets, which reduced the total number of councillors by 10 to 1,851. Both the mayoral and councillor elections are four-yearly.
Alexander Serge Lourie CF is a former Leader of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, where he was a local government councillor from 1982 to 2010. He was Chairman of the United Kingdom Housing Trust, Kingston Hospital NHS Trust and Sanctuary Housing Association. He has also been the General Secretary of Help the Aged and a board member of the London Pensions Fund Authority and the Notting Hill Housing Trust.
The 1964 Richmond upon Thames Council election took place on 7 May 1964 to elect members of Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained control of the council.
The 2022 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect all 48 members of Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 54 members of Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.